Clockwork
by The Swizzle
Summary: When his sister Nic is captured and held hostage, Fang must stop at nothing to rescue her. With only 48 hours to do so, this task will be a difficult one...not to mention the return of The Hunter, and the appearance of a mysterious new enemy. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, people. Just a little reminder before you begin reading…if you have not read Hunt or be Hunted yet, I would advise you to do so. I just don't want a lot of reviews asking who these 'random' folks are. This is a SEQUEL. Read the fanfic that came before, and you should have some understanding of what is going on.**

A sleek silver Sedan cut through the forest undergrowth, sending small animals darting for cover from the vehicle's tires. The driver was very careful not to run over the little critters as he drove, for he was rather fond of animals. In fact, Joshua's job as a scientist required him to work with rats back at his laboratory. When he had first started working there, he grew attached to a certain albino rat he nicknamed Luffy. Josh gave special attention to Luffy because he was different from the other rats; he was born blind. Rats that were that disabled were usually killed once the other scientists found out, but not Luffy. Josh was a sensitive fellow, and he could not bear to think of his rat dead. He had convinced the other scientists he worked with to let Luffy live for a high sum of money, and nobody could have let a few thousand dollars go by unnoticed.

_Luffy…_

He remembered the playful rat waiting for him back at the lab. Augh, how Josh wanted to turn the car around!

"Why couldn't Jane come home when she was supposed to? She's been gone a week already!" He steered the Sedan out of the way of a pine tree, and made a sharp turn to the right.

"According to mother's directions, Jane's office should be nearby…" Josh adjusted his glasses a bit, and kept his eyes peeled for any sign of civilization. To tell the truth, he was not too familiar with where Jane worked, or what she did for a living. Maybe she worked for the military, as she was always coming home with camouflage outfits on.

After a few more minutes of driving along, a small concrete building came into view. It was partially hidden between the mass numbers of pine trees as if it was a confidential place.

"Why would a building be so far away from the city?" Josh asked himself, and parked his Sedan on the dirt in front of the facility. He unfastened his seatbelt, and popped open the car door.

From what it looked like, there had been a stampede of sorts; there were many animal tracks scattered around the area. Josh knelt down to examine them, and almost instantly he could tell what had been there. Deer, rabbits, lizards, birds…it seemed impossible that so many different creatures could be in the same place! Though, there was one track that was not from an animal at all. Josh squinted in disbelief, but his glasses did not fail him.

"Boots…someone must have been leaving here, but it couldn't have been Jane. These are much too small." Josh slowly got to his feet, and headed toward the doorway.

The steel door that had once been latched firmly in the doorway now lay on the ground, ripped off of its hinges. Two deep marks were imprinted in the center of its frame, as if something had rammed into it with a great amount of force.

"Strange. Very strange." Josh quickly glanced at the door before heading inside.

It was pitch black inside the building. The only thing that gave even the slightest bit of light was the open doorway, which even then did not pierce the darkness. Josh fumbled around in his bulky white scientist jacket for his portable flashlight. When he finally found it, he clicked it on, and waved it around.

The beam from his flashlight landed on an empty cage in front of him, and Josh gasped. Was that blood on the wall, or was the light playing tricks on him? He decided not, for each and every cage he shined the light on had some sort of blood stain in it somewhere. Each one was the same as the last; empty. To Josh, this place looked like the local animal pound, for there were rows of cages where animals might have been kept.

"Jane? Jane!" His shouts bounced off the concrete walls, giving him the impression he was the only one here.

"Maybe she is in the back…" The scientist spied a hallway at the end of the rows of cages, and started strolling in its direction. On his way to the hall, Josh kept wondering if Jane was ever going to spill the beans and tell him what she really did for a living.

When he reached it, Josh gazed at the many doors down the hallway. Why, Jane could be in any one of them! "Knowing her, she is probably sitting in some comfy chair listening to her iPod." He rolled his eyes. Typical.

"I'll try the this one." Josh turned toward the first door in the hall, and reached for its shiny brass knob.

All of a sudden, a faint grunt came from nearby. Poor Joshua nearly dropped his flashlight in surprise. Something WAS here after all…

Out of the corner of his eye, Josh saw something move. He whipped around, and stood stock-still in shock. His eyes were fixed at something crawling on the ground.

That something writhing on the ground was a man. He was doubled over in pain, wincing at every move he made. It would have seemed like he could easily get up; he had enormous muscles like the bodybuilders Josh had seen on television. His short blonde hair was buzz cut and caked in dirt and dust as well as his khakis and boots. What seemed the most familiar about him though was his camouflage tee, which matched Jane's almost perfectly, save for the fact his shirt was much larger. A shiny silver chain around the man's neck jingled as he moved.

"I could have sworn…I heard someone…coming." His voice was feeble and weak as if he had been severely injured.

"Huh? Who are you?" Josh shined his flashlight in the man's eyes, causing him to recoil back into the darkness with a roar of pain.

"Augh, don't…shine that at…me…" The man growled, and tried to shield his face with his hands.

"Sorry. I can't see any other way. It's too dark in here." Josh shrugged, and repeated his question. "So…who are you?"

The man was silent for a few moments before he answered. "I…I work…here…I run…the place with…a few…others…but they are…all…dead." He had to stop frequently in the middle of his words to pause and gasp for air.

Oh God. Jane? Was Jane…dead?

"Is there a woman named Jane around here? She's my sister, and I drove over to come and pick her up. She hasn't contacted me for about a week now." The scientist offered his hand to help the man up.

The man hastily took Josh's hand, and tried to stand. He almost toppled over, but managed to steady himself a little with some help. It was then that Josh could see why the man was in so much pain.

There was a bullet hole in his left shoulder, and it did not look like a minor one. Whatever had shot him had used a high quality pistol…possibly even at close range.

"Ow. That doesn't look too good." Josh turned his head away from the wound. "How on Earth did you get that?"

The man sighed, and shook his head. "Funny…story…actually…" He managed to chuckle a bit. "A…weasel…shot me."

"Call me crazy, but did you just say a 'weasel' shot you?" The scientist gave the man a puzzled look, and waited for him to reply.

The man managed to nod. "Yeah…and he…shot…your sister too. She wasn't as…lucky. He killed…her on the…spot." 

No. No, it could not have happened. Jane could not be dead. Josh went into a fast state of delirium and tried to convince himself that his sister was still alive. "Where is this so-called weasel? WHERE IS HE NOW?" He demanded, and shook the man as if he was not injured.

"Oww…easy kid, easy! Maybe…we can…find that…weasel. I'd…like to find out…where he is and kill…him just as much…as you would. He…got away and…escaped…with the other animals…" An angry glare swept across the man's eyes.

"Other animals? What other animals?" Now they were getting somewhere. Perhaps Josh could finally find out where he really was.

"Well…I run a…" The man suddenly clutched his shoulder in pain.

"You don't look so good…maybe I can give you a ride back to my place. You need some medical attention." Josh gestured at the man's arm.

"That would be…wonderful…" The man gave a wry smile. "Thank…you."

"No problem…err, what's your name?" Josh helped the man walk back down the hallway toward his Sedan waiting out front.

"Just call me…The Hunter…"


	2. Chapter 2

"Try not to-AUGH DAMN, stop wrapping it up like that!" The Hunter bellowed, and hastily swatted Josh's hands away from his injured arm. The linen bandages he had been wrapping up the man's arm with plummeted to the tile floor.

"Well, I'm just trying to help out! You can't do much with that arm anyway." Josh bent down and picked up the roll of bandages off of the floor.

They had arrived at Josh's laboratory an hour before. Since then, the two men had been bickering constantly about the most stupid things: The lights were too bright, the air was too cold, the room smelled heavily of rubbing alcohol…frankly, Joshua was getting fed up.

"Listen, either I wrap this up, or you can risk it getting even more nasty than it is!" Josh went back to bandaging the reluctant Hunter's arm.

A few minutes later, the arm was completely wrapped up. The Hunter flexed it slowly, and smiled his ugly little smile. "Hey, it barely hurts anymore!"

"Oh, you wouldn't BELIEVE how many accidents I have tended to at this lab." Josh chuckled, and adjusted his glasses. It seemed that they did not fit quite right, as he was always straightening them.

The Hunter seemed to be deep in thought about something. "You invent things in this lab, right?" He climbed off of the steel table he had been sitting on, and turned to face Josh.

"Ummm. Yeah, but I'm not that good at it…the only things I can put together successfully are Tinker Toys!" Josh sighed, and tucked away the bandage roll inside one of his pockets.

"That wasn't what I had in mind. I want to find someone who can build a machine that can help us take revenge on Fang-"

The Hunter was cut off by Josh. "Who is this 'Fang' person?"

"Not person. Weasel. Fang is that weasel I was talking about. The one who killed your sister and gave me this!" The Hunter waved his injured arm.

"Ooooh. Continue, then." Josh decided he should shut up before the man got angry.

"As I was saying, we need some brilliant genius who can construct a machine for us to kill Fang with. You DO want your sister's death to be avenged, right?" One of those twisted grins snaked across The Hunter's face.

Josh nodded, but was unsure about The Hunter's intentions. He seemed very violent at the moment.

"Well, I don't know anybody like that, so do you?" The Hunter waited for a response.

Josh had to ponder this. Did he know anybody that met The Hunter's expectations? Nobody at the lab was really a 'genius', and very few were avid inventors. Just when he was about to reply with a no, Josh stopped. There was one person he had heard of that was always inventing powerful machines to stop a certain hedgehog…could he perhaps create one to stop a weasel?

"WAIT. I think I know someone who could help us." Josh started digging through the cabinets on the walls until he fished out a thick yellow phone book. With a heave, he slammed it down on the table and started to flip through the pages.

"You better not be making a prank call." The Hunter watched as Josh flipped to the page with R names.

"Don't worry…I know what I'm doing." Josh adjusted his glasses once more, and skimmed a finger across the list.

Roanoke…Roberto…Robinson…

"Here it is!" He lay his finger on the name 'Robotnik'. "Uhh. Do you have a cell phone?"

With a grumble, The Hunter handed his phone over to Josh. "Just don't break it. If you break it, I'll break your face."

In fear of having his face broken, Josh swiftly dialed Robotnik's number. There was a long pause as the phone rang. Time seemed to be at a stand-still.

After a while, a muffled voice picked up the phone. "Hello? Who the hell is this?"

Josh did not know what to say; this famous scientist had actually picked up the phone! "Err, this is Joshua Smith. Is this Dr. Ivo Robotnik?"

"Of course it is. Now then, why are you calling me? Are you a telemarketer? I have a lot of things to get done, places to go, and sights to see. I'm a very busy man!" Robotnik's voice barked back.

"Well, my friend and I were wondering if you could help us build a machine…and no, I'm not a telemarketer." Josh's voice quivered. What if he said the wrong thing?

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Robotnik's maniacal laughter broke out. "You think I would help someone I don't even know? Forget it!"

Just before Robotnik hung up the phone, Josh shouted at the top of his lungs. "BUT WE NEED SOMETHING TO DEFEAT FANG!"

Robotnik paused. "Oh really? Fang the sniper, eh? That changes things…he hasn't exactly been on my good side. Double-crossed me a few times, the dirty son of a bitch."

"So you'll help us?" Josh beamed with excitement.

"Indeed. Give me the directions to where you are at, and I'll be over there faster than a supersonic hedgehog."

---

Dr. Robotnik kept his promise. Within only a half hour, he was sitting across from the Hunter and Joshua at the table in the middle of the room. The Doc had brought a pad of blueprints along with him so he could show the other two men his ideas.

"How about this one?" Robotnik finished drawing a sketch, and revealed the drawing to his small audience. The sketch was of a giant ATM machine with bills and coins flying out of its slot.

"I lured him with something of value last time. He's a crafty animal, that one. I don't think he would be fooled again." The Hunter gave a bored yawn. "We have been doing this for hours."

"No offense Dr. Robotnik, but that looks kind of retarded." Josh tried to stifle a giggle.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" Robotnik turned a cherry red, and fumed at Josh's remark.

"Just go on to the next one and stop bitching!" The Hunter growled.

"Fine then." Robotnik whipped out his pencil again, and started on the next drawing. After a few minutes, he was done again, and he showed off the design. This one was of a robotic gun with eyes and arms. "Like it?"

"Okay, listen. Doc, we aren't living in a CARTOON world. We need something realistic; something that can actually look like something other than just a drawing." The input from The Hunter was true. Robotnik (or as some called him, Dr. Eggman) was someone who usually made his robots look more comical than terrifying.

"You people are just so damn picky! Alright, I'll do one more blueprint. One. Uno. No more, no less. If both of you don't like it, you guys are on your own. I saved this one for last for a good reason." Robotnik's eyes twinkled with an evil air. He started sketching like mad, trying to get his great idea down.

"Behold!" He held out the blueprint pad for the men to see.

The Hunter stared in awe with his mouth wide open. "Now THIS is what I had in mind! Brilliant!" He nodded and gave another one of his gruesome smiles in satisfaction.

Josh was hit with a wave of astonishment. Even though he was a scientist, he could have never concocted such a plan. "That's…awesome. Will there be any supplies we need to get for you to build this thing?"

Robotnik rolled up the blueprint and stuffed it in his pocket. "I have all of the things I'll need already back at my base…except one thing. The most crucial thing that gets the robot to work."

Josh and The Hunter looked at each other, and answered in unison. "And what would that be?"

"The life data." Dr. Robotnik headed for the door, when Josh stopped him. "Wait Robotnik, what is life data?"

"Please, just call me Doctor. Almost everyone does." The man laughed heartily, making his red coat jiggle. "As for life data, that is kind of a hard topic to explain. You see, life data is memories, thoughts, actions, feelings…anything about someone or something from the inside-out. That is why I'll need Fang's in order for this robot to work. One of you two will have to go undercover and get his life data for me."

The Hunter snorted. "No thanks. I already tried the whole 'undercover' thing, and Fang knows what I look like now." His glare turned to Josh, who smiled sheepishly.

"Uh, okay. I'll do it. But how do you propose I get his life data? I can't just lug a big machine around and ask him to cooperate with me!" Josh cried.

Robotnik waddled over to Josh, and held out what appeared to be a Polaroid disposable camera. "You don't have to lug around a big machine. I rewired this camera so that it captures the life data without being a pain in the ass to carry around. It is also cleverly disguised, yes?"

Josh nodded. He really had believed it was a camera!

"So listen closely, Joshua. Here is what you are going to do…"


	3. Chapter 3

On the outskirts of Station Square was a small brick apartment complex built beside the parking lot of the city's grocery store. Not many people were willing to live next to such a busy area, so the rent was fairly cheap. No wonder a certain weasel had moved into the building! If there was one thing Fang truly loved, it was the driving force known as cash. Normally, he was reluctant to spend any money at all (save for gambling, of course) but he knew some sort of home was necessary. After Fang's little experience with The Hunter, he allowed his sister Nic to stay with him for a while. She had said something about 'making sure he was safe'. Sure enough, a week went by without any sort of danger.

Tonight was like any other ordinary evening. Fang sat lazily on his green sofa flipping through the various channels on the television. Nic hummed "Oh Susanna" as she stirred the boiling pot of spaghetti on the stove. She stole a quick glance at the clock on the kitchen wall, and clicked the stove off. "Nack…dinner's almost ready." With a smile, she brought the pot over to the sink and strained the pasta.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that stupid name! I happen to like 'Fang' better." Fang snapped, and turned his attention back to the television. He whipped out the remote, and continued surfing through the channels. The first one he flipped to was the news.

"Good evening Station Square! I'm Linda Taylor from Channel 5 News. Our top story tonight…" The woman started to blather away about some robbery that had occurred earlier.

"Man, I hate the news." Fang remembered that phony story about the Chaos Emerald that he had fallen for. He quickly changed the channel.

The next channel had Bill Cosby cracking another one of his jokes. "This isn't Burger King; you can't have it your way!" The audience laughed hysterically, and the channel was changed again.

This channel had an old western movie on it. Two cowboys were backing away from each other with pistols in their hands. The first one, a burly man with a brown beard, started shooting the other man.

"I guess this is okay…" Fang shrugged, and headed over toward the kitchen. His sister was just starting to spoon the spaghetti into two glass bowls when she stopped.

"Uh-oh. Um, I think we are out of tomato sauce." Nic frowned, and opened the refrigerator. She peered inside for a few moments in hopes that she would find an extra can, and shut the door with a sigh. "It's official; we don't have any sauce. How are we supposed to have pasta without sauce?" She turned to her brother.

Fang looked at the carpet. "I dunno…why don't we order pizza or something?" He eagerly reached for the phone laying on the counter, but Nic stopped him.

"Wait a second. There is an advantage for living next to a grocery store, y'know. Why don't you head on over there and get some more pasta sauce? I'm kind of busy preparing dinner and it is getting late. Please?" She made a puppy dog face.

"Agh, fine…but fork over the cash, because I'm not paying for it." Fang held out his hand as Nic passed him ten one dollar bills.

"I only have singles. That means you should only buy the sauce! I don't want you wasting all of my money on those stupid scratchcard machines you get so obsessed over!" Nic watched as her older brother waltzed over to the door.

"No worries, sis. You can trust me." Fang smirked as he opened the door and stepped out into the apartment's hallway.

QUICK-MART. The bold neon letters stood out against the fading sunset. Occasionally, the R would flicker on and off from the old lighting system.

Fang burst through the door of the grocery store, intent on getting this errand out of the way as fast as he could. "But first…" His gaze wandered over to the scratchcard machine sitting in the corner. It was covered in gold plastic, and had the phrase 'Win BIG!' stenciled in red on its front. "I'm sure Nic wouldn't mind if perhaps I 'lost' a few dollars." He walked over to the machine, and slipped a dollar into the slot. A small card dropped out, and Fang hastily grabbed it. He scratched off the squares of the card in his hopes that he would win the million dollar jackpot. After all of the squares were scratched off, none of the symbols matched. He had lost. "Dammit." Fang cursed, and stuffed another dollar into the slot. Every single time he got a losing card. He kept feeding the machine more money until only three dollars remained of the ten.

"Enough for the tomato sauce, I hope." Fang left the machine behind and followed the signs to the pasta aisle.

---

Meanwhile, outside of the store, a lone figure waited behind a parked Sedan. He pulled out a walkie-talkie from the pocket of his jeans, and clicked it on.

"Robotnik…I think I've spotted the weasel. He's purple and white with a brown hat, boots, a belt, and gloves on. I think he's got a weapon in that belt, too." He adjusted his glasses that were starting to slide off of his face as he looked through the store's window.

"Well don't just stand there, Joshua! Do you have your proper clothing on?" A raspy voice answered back among the static of the walkie-talkie.

"Yes sir. The jeans, the T-shirt, everything. You wouldn't even know it was me."

"Then get in there and do your job!" The walkie-talkie shut off, and Joshua tucked it away back into his pocket. He snuck around the front of the car, and grinned as he started toward the store's entrance.

---

"I'm missing that western show…" Fang grumbled as he carried the can of tomato sauce toward the checkout counter. He passed countless other things that he would have rather bought; the new Blue Bunny Blueberry Swirl ice cream…that set of NiGHTS playing cards…but he was stuck buying pasta sauce for his sister. He did not want to disobey her again, for she was all he had left of his family. No mother, no father, just her. That was why he was kind of soft toward her…

When he got to the checkout counter, the line was completely empty. The only one there was the cashier, and he looked like he wanted to go home as well. 'Kenny' was written in rather sloppy handwriting on his name tag.

Fang handed the can of sauce to Kenny, who scanned it and dropped it in a plastic bag. "Your total is $2.65." he droned.

The last three dollars were handed over to the cashier. Kenny wrapped up the bag, and gave it to his customer. "Aren't you going to give me change?" The weasel impatiently tapped his foot.

"Oh." Kenny yawned, and pulled out a few coins from the cash register.

_Yeah, I thought so._ Fang thought, and sauntered over toward the door when a man in jeans rushed in front of him.

"Hey! Are you Fang the Sniper?" The man adjusted his glasses, and smiled.

"Uh, yeaaahhh…" Fang thought this was kind of awkward. Someone he did not even know was acting like they were old acquaintances.

"Oh, I knew it! See, I'm a big fan of your poker tournaments. I'm usually in the crowds watching." The man stuck his hand into one of his pockets, and pulled out a Polaroid camera.

"Ah. A fan, eh?" Fang stared at the camera.

"Of course! Uh…could I get your picture? I've always wanted one, but you leave immediately after you finish your poker games." The man brought the camera to his face, and motioned for Fang to scoot away from the checkout lane. "Okay, now make a pose or something!"

_Why not? It's kind of flattering to have a fan. _Fang smiled, and brought his pistol out from his belt as he set the plastic bag down.

_Oh my God, is he going to shoot me?_ The man started to panic slightly, but gave a sigh of relief when the weasel made a harmless James Bond pose with his gun.

"One…two…three!" The man clicked a button, and the camera emitted a huge flash of bright light.

"Augh, God!" Fang shielded his eyes and winced. "What kind of fucking flash are you using?" His vision started to cloud over, and soon Fang was completely blind. He gripped the side of the checkout counter until his eyesight returned within a few moments. The man with the camera had vanished.

"Next time, I'll only take autographs…" Fang muttered, and exited the store with the grocery bag in one hand and his pistol in the other.


	4. Chapter 4

"Back already?" Nic eyed her brother as he stepped through the apartment's door.

"Yeah…" Fang sighed. He seemed to be deeply troubled by something. "Here's the sauce." He set the can of tomato sauce on the kitchen counter, and flopped down onto the green couch like a limp ragdoll.

Nic sensed something was wrong, and headed over toward the couch. "What's wrong, Nack?" She sat down next to him and frowned at his expression.

_She really needs to stop calling me that…_Fang thought, and stared back at his sister. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine."

"No you aren't. Did…did something happen at the store?" Nic cocked an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Err, sorta. See, this random guy just came up to me when I was getting ready to leave, and he claimed to be a fan of mine. He said he watched me at my poker games, but never got a chance to talk because I left right after I finished. Then he asked to get a picture, and I couldn't refuse. After all, he's a fan, right? So he took it, but his flash was just blinding! Normally, cameras aren't like that." Fang reflected on the scene in the store. The 'fan' had just left without a trace…

"Hmm. Maybe he had to go somewhere in a hurry. I don't find it all that strange." His sister gave him a carefree smile. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure he won't ask you for anything again."

"Maybe you're right, sis. Yeah, I bet I'll never have to see him again." Fang nodded, and fished for the remote lodged in between the couch cushions. He pointed it at the television, and his western show appeared. The two men were riding on huge stallions with long flowing manes. Nic rolled her eyes, and left her brother to finish making their dinner.

When she got back to the counter, she noticed that there was no money with the can of sauce. "Augh…what did you do with the rest of my money?" A sharp glare was cast in Fang's direction.

"Uhh…" Fang failed to give a full answer.

---

"He should have been here twenty minutes ago! Where is that man?" Dr. Robotnik tapped his foot impatiently on the tiled floor of the laboratory.

The Hunter spun around in one of the chairs at the table. "He probably got shot or something. Heh, that would have been funny to watch." He pictured the scene in his head, and chuckled some more.

"He better not have…that 'camera' was an expensive piece of equipment." Robotnik groaned, and kept staring at the large computer screen in front of him. This laboratory lacked the technology of his own base; perhaps he should build the robot there instead.

_I can't have them come with…_He cast a glance in The Hunter's direction. _They could rat out the location of my secret base._

Suddenly, Joshua burst through the door to the room. He still had on his garb from earlier at the store when he had his run-in with Fang. "I have it Robotnik!" He waved the camera excitedly in the air.

"Hmmm." Dr. Robotnik grabbed the machine from Joshua, and inspected it carefully. "Excellent…" He snapped off the part of the 'camera' where the film would have been. "Do you know how to work this computer?" Robotnik pointed to the giant computer in front of him.

"Sure. I know how to work any of these computers…after all, I work here!" Josh watched as Robotnik handed him the piece of the camera.

"Open it." Robotnik gave one of his huge evil grins.

For a few moments, Joshua hesitated. What if the machine had somehow not gotten the data? How would Robotnik react?

"For God's sake, would you hurry up?" The Hunter yelled from his chair. "A snail could have opened that faster than you!"

Not wanting to enrage the burly man, Josh opened up the piece, and out popped a small transparent disk. "Huh…?"

"Alright boy, now put it into the computer." Robotnik demanded.

With a steady hand, Josh pushed a blue button on the computer, and a disk slot shot out. He set the small disk in place, and watched as it disappeared into the computer.

The computer screen filled immediately with pictures and maps of Fang, and several windows appeared with information and data filling them by the second.

"Woah…what is this stuff?" Josh gazed in awe as the images and windows kept materializing onto the screen.

"This is what you collected for me. Life data. Every single scrap of this information is valuable for us to use."

The Hunter joined the other two men looking at the screen. "Pretty impressive there, Doctor. How is this going to help you build that robot, though?"

"It's quite simple really. I install it into a program chip and put it into the robot."

"Whatever. I'm not all scientific and crap." The Hunter brought out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with one of his portable lighters.

Josh lay his hand on the computer's mouse, and dragged the cursor over to one of the windows. In bold yellow text, the title read 'MEMORIES'.

"Nah…keep going Josh." Robotnik seemed to be looking for a specific window.

Joshua slid the cursor over to the next window, which was titled 'BIOLOGICAL DATA'.

"Nope…" Dr. Robotnik denied once again.

"How about this one, sir?" Josh moved the cursor to a window that read 'WEAKNESSES'. The Hunter smirked, and took a drag of his cigarette.

"That's the one. Hand me that mouse." Robotnik pushed Josh's hand away, and scrolled down the list in the 'Weaknesses' window.

The list seemed surprisingly short to the men; they had half expected it to be an exceptionally long archive. Joshua started to read through the list as Robotnik scrolled.

"Surprise attacks…lack of physical strength…lack of speed…his sister…"

"That explains why he has to use guns. Pssh, if I had only known that earlier!" The Hunter sneered, and blew a cloud of smoke.

"Hold on a minute. What was that last one?" Robotnik paused his scrolling, and turned to Josh.

"His sister?" Josh repeated, slightly unsure of what Robotnik was pondering.

"I've got a plan brewing…how about we don't just flat-out kill Fang, but make his sister suffer as well? That way, we can be sure that no more weasels will interfere with our lives." The Hunter tapped his cigarette, causing bits of ash and tar to fall to the floor.

"Good point. I would say maybe we could just storm into their abode and annihilate both of them, but that takes the fun out of things…I'll sleep on it. By tomorrow I should have something for us to work with." Robotnik opened the CD slot, and took the life data disk out.

"Where do you think you are going with that?" Josh watched as the fat man waddled over toward the door.

Robotnik remembered his caution from earlier. _I can't tell him I'm going to my base…_  
"I'm going to head on over to my 'office' and get to work on this robot of mine."

---

One day was all it took.

Robotnik stood before his creation, checking it over for any flaws that it might have in its design. The majority of the robot was a sleek metallic purple in color (save for the white streak down its middle, and a white muzzle). It sported pairs of boots and gloves made of copper, along with its belt and hat. Robotnik had tried to make it look as close to the real thing as he could, and it was a pretty acceptable copy. The only things that gave it away were its metallic sheen and piercing red eyes. Its eyes had an ominous glow to them that could strike fear into the hearts of anyone who dared to look back at it.

"I've given you all of the weapons and upgrades I could muster up from my collection…bulletproofed your frame…and all I need to do is install this little chip. Then, you shall have all of the knowledge of your opponent and you will be under my command. Sure, I tried linking Metal Sonic to Sonic, but that was a complete failure. I would rather not have mistakes repeated." Robotnik held out a minuscule green chip, and approached the robot. He attached the chip to the back of the robot's hat, and started to back away as the robot sprung to life.

"Behold my latest creation!" Robotnik's shouts echoed through his base, causing some of his other robots to stop and stare at him.

"Metal Fang!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the late update, guys. I've been sick with strep, and updating had been the last thing on my mind. –shrug- Well, I'm slightly better, which means I can write some more.**

"You better have some sort of scheme ready, Robotnik. I can't hang around here for long; the police are probably on my case. I'm wanted in six different areas already." The Hunter opened the door to the same familiar laboratory room the trio had been hanging around in the past few days. He let Robotnik pass through, and slammed the door behind the obese man.

"Of course I do boys!" Robotnik snickered, and pointed toward the closed door. "Just watch and wait."

"Huh?" Joshua was bent down near the giant computer fixing a stray wire. He adjusted his pair of specs, and continued to work on his repair.

The faint sound of clanking steel on tile rang through the hallway outside. Clank, clank, clank, clank…its volume increased as it came closer to the room.

"Go on, don't be shy. Come on in, M.F.!" Robotnik crooned in a coaxing tone as if the thing in the hall were one of his children.

There was a long silence before the plexiglass door was shattered into a myriad of pieces by a steel fist. Metal Fang stood in the doorway, scanning the area for potential threats.

The Hunter stood in awe at Robotnik's creation. He only managed to utter one comment. "It's…it's like a mirror of the real thing!"

Robotnik nodded abruptly, and gave a grin of satisfaction. "Gentlemen…meet Metal Fang, or M.F. as I call him. You said over the phone that you wanted some sort of invention to stop a certain weasel, so here it is. He's got the greatest arsenal of weapons you could imagine, 166 different modes…" Robotnik blathered on.

Josh started to back away from his spot on the floor once M.F. spotted him. Those spooky red eyes seemed to imprint themselves in the scientist's mind.

"…and to top it all off, he's even got a built-in MP3 player so you can play your favorite songs while you bring Fang his demise!" Finally, the fat man finished his explanation.

"Enough with the whole explanation, Doc. Cut to the chase, and tell me what your little plan is. You said you would have one by today." The Hunter rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, I've got it handled." Robotnik gave a confident chuckle, and motioned for the other two men to sit down at the table.

"Not again…" The Hunter groaned, and slumped into one of the chairs.

Joshua, afraid of what the robot would do if he did not obey, joined The Hunter.

Robotnik stood alone at the end of the table with M.F. "Here's how this is going to work…at precisely 3 AM tonight, I'll send M.F. out into the streets of Station Square to search for where Fang and his sister might reside…"

---

The glittering lights of the city illuminated the night sky. The absence of stars went by unnoticed, for Station Square relied on the gentle glow of neon signs and lampposts to light up their twilight streets.

Fang was bored out of his wits. He stared out the window of the small apartment, expecting to find something to occupy his time; something other than the black cat that was digging through the dumpster outside. "Nic? I'm going to go try my hand at the slots tonight. There's nothing to do here." The weasel sighed, and started for the door.

"This late? Brother, it's midnight already…how about you watch some TV?" Nic yawned sleepily in the doorway of her bedroom.

"No. I don't want to fucking watch Dr. Phil preach to people." Fang growled.

"Fine. Do what you want. I'm not Mother." His sister shrugged.

"It's not like I'm going to live at Casinopolis! I'll be back in the morning anyway." Before Nic could counter his remark, Fang was out the door and down the stairs.

"Sigh…brothers." Nic shook her head. "I think I should get some rest. There's no telling how long he's going to stay there." She turned to her bed, and flopped onto its surface. "I hope it is soon, though. I don't feel comfortable being alone." Nic curled up deep within her bed sheets, and slowly fell asleep.

---

A dim street lamp was the only thing lighting up the streets at this time of night. Most of Station Square's residents had gone to bed hours ago, save for a select few.

A metallic figure casually stepped out of the veil of darkness the night provided, and walked out into the middle of the road. He stopped and looked up at the small apartment complex in front of him. A flight of stairs spiraled up to the first floor; this would surely lead inside the building.

"Scanning for life forms…" a choppy robotic voice stated. His eyes glowed for a moment as he processed his surroundings. "Primary target #1 found: Nicolette T Weasel…" Hiss speech immediately gave him away as a robot. He started to climb up the stairs at a brisk pace because he was intent on finding what he was looking for, and fast.

As soon as he reached the top of the first floor, the robot started looking for the specific door that led to his objective. The desired door he was looking for was at the end of the row of apartment rooms. He turned the knob, and walked inside.

---

Nic tossed and turned wildly in her sleep, for she was trying to get rid of an awful nightmare. "No, no stop! No……huh?" She bolted upright, and found that she was still in the safe haven of her room.

"Thank God it was only a dream…" Nic gave a sigh of relief, and took a quick glance at the digital clock on her nightstand. It read in big red numbers '3:00 AM'.

Wait. What was that sound…? Footsteps in the hallway? She gasped, and held up the bed sheets over her head in preparation for the worst. She knew she couldn't fight back; Fang owned the only gun they had, and he had taken it to the casino with him.

The knob clicked, and the door to her room flew open.

"I'm warning you! Stay back, or I'll call-" Nic peeked out from under the sheets, and cocked her head in surprise. "Nack…?"

A shady silhouette of her brother stood in the doorway, his eyes gleaming a deep blood red.

"Wow. You're back early. Knowing you, you would have definitely stayed all night." Nic watched as her brother approached her bedside.

"Target acquired." The robotic voice beeped, and locked eyes with Nic.

Nic fumbled for her bedside lamp, and hastily switched it on. The shape of her brother diminished, and the metallic face of his look-alike came into view. Before she could run away or scream out in fright, Metal Fang whipped her in the face with his sharp pointy tail.

Everything turned black.

---

The late morning sun filtered through the window blinds and into Fang's apartment room. All was quiet and peaceful as if nothing had happened all night.

"Hey Nic! I got 500 bucks last night! You should have seen me!"

Nobody responded to Fang. The apartment was deathly silent.

"Nic?" Fang carefully shut the door, and wandered over to his sister's room. "Nic, where the hell are you?" Her bed was messed up, indicating that she had slept there that night. Then where was she?

"Maybe she's out for a walk or something." Fang shrugged, and walked over to the kitchen to fix himself breakfast.

On the refrigerator was a single yellow Post-It note with a message written on it in black ink. The weasel ripped it off, and started to read:

'_Fang,_

It was foolish of you to leave your sibling home alone like that. I mean, what if something were to, say, have happened to her? Yeah, that's right. I've got your sister in my grasp. I'll let you come and find her…but it's not that simple. If life was simple, there would be no fun in it! You have exactly 48 hours to locate her starting at noon today. If you find her, it's finders-keepers. If you don't…she will be killed on the spot; even if you are a mere second late. Oho, but that's not all! I also have two men out looking for you. Two men that hate you with a bloody passion. Two men, and a machine…you figure it out.

Dr. Robotnik'


	6. Chapter 6

"Two days! Only two days to try and figure out where Nic is on this planet! Augh, this is just like those crappy Where's Waldo? books. I could never find out where that guy was."

Fang paced around the apartment, trying to devise some sort of plan to rescue his sister. "She saved my ass once, so I'll return the favor for her." He crumpled up the Post-It note and chucked it across the room. The note had said that the countdown would begin at noon…

Fang stared at the clock on the wall. The hands were angled at 11:13. "I don't care who Robotnik sent out; I won't let anyone get in my way." He growled, and stomped off toward the door. He shoved it open and sped down the spiraling staircase as fast as he could run. It was best to get as much of a head start as possible, even if noon was at least a good half hour away.

Once he had descended the stairs, Fang decided that the first places he should look would be the dark alleyways of Station Square. Hey, they seemed like pretty good places to stick a hostage in a city! Though, Station Square was a vast metropolitan location. Checking in every single alley and lane would take at least half of a day. 

"He sure didn't make this easy on me. I'd at least like a hint or a clue." Fang sighed.

There was an alley across from the apartment building that looked particularly dark and shady; a perfect place to start his search! Fang waited patiently as a few cars passed by, and he dashed across the street and into the alley.

The alley seemed to be isolated from the streets, for passing pedestrians did not even bother to glance inside of it. Colorful graffiti caked the brick walls, and several mangy rats scurried around on the ground.

The black cat he had seen out the window before was eating a dead fish in one of the various garbage cans that lay against the walls. For a moment it looked up at Fang with its huge yellow eyes, blinked, and then continued to eat its meal.

"Nic! NIC! Say something!" Fang called out to his sister, but his shouts just echoed back to him. There was no response.

He continued to run through the alley, all the while shouting Nic's name. She never answered his calls.

Suddenly, Fang heard faint yells coming from behind him. He whirled around, but only had a split second's notice before he was knocked over.

"What the-?" A female voice! "Who the heck are you?" Sitting on the ground in front of him was a bat of his same size. She was pure white in color like powder snow, with a tan muzzle and huge ears that stood up on her head. She wore a jet black suit with a heart emblem on its front, and white gloves covered her hands. Her boots were the same snowy white as her gloves and fur. Two purple wings were folded neatly against her back.

She watched as Fang stared at her. "Well? Aren't you going to help a woman up or something?"

"That's why you have legs, idiot." The weasel stood and brushed himself off.

The bat rolled her eyes, and rose. "Just get outta my way! I'm on the run from the cops!" She started to leave when Fang suddenly grabbed one of her arms.

"Woah woah, hang on a sec. What's going on?" Fang tried to slow her down, but she just kept sprinting, dragging him along with her.

"None of your beeswax!" The bat ducked down behind a group of trash cans in an attempt to hide herself. Fang let go of her arm, and hid beside her.

"…Sounds like you've got something valuable on you. Or something illegal." Fang narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Gold? Diamonds? Cocaine?" He smirked, feeling that he was on to something.

"Would you shut up? They're coming!" She hissed, and pointed at two policemen coming toward them.

One of the men was a tall and thin officer with a gray mustache and a bald head. He towered over the second officer who was short and pudgy like a penguin. He even waddled around like one!

"Hey Bob! Did you see which way the bat-woman went?" The taller man faced the shorter one.

"Nope, not a thing, Joe! I could have sworn she went this way…" Bob shook his head.

"Woah. What a couple of clueless…here, move out of the way." Fang pushed away the bat and pulled out his pistol from his belt. "HEY! WISE GUYS! OVER HERE!" He yelled at the cops, who spun around and stared at the garbage cans.

"What are you doing? They know where we are now!" The bat whispered.

"Violets are blue, roses are red…I can't think of a rhyme, so prepare to eat lead!" Fang taunted. He stuck his pistol out in between the cans, and fired two rounds at the confused officers' faces. Both men toppled over, dead as doornails. 

"Mmmm, impressive." The bat girl smiled, and made her way out from her hiding spot.

"Pssh. That was nothing!" Fang wandered over to Bob, and bent down to reach into his pocket.

"Oh really?" She watched as Fang pulled out a wallet as fat as the man he was looting.

"Yeah. People don't call me Fang the Sniper for nothing!" He grabbed the bills, and tossed the rest of the wallet aside.

"Fang, eh? I'm Rouge." The bat remarked, and pulled out a large sparkling green gem. She fingered it gingerly as it lit up the alley with a dazzling emerald flicker.

The gem caught Fang's eyes immediately, and he gazed at it with an awestruck expression. "Is that a…?" He drooled.

"A Chaos Emerald." Rouge smiled. "I stole it from a jewelry shop a few blocks away. The owner must've called the cops on me, because I had just started casually walking off when I heard blaring sirens. Normally, I would have flown, but there aren't as many places to hide in the open air. I ran into this alley, and that's when I crashed into you."

"So you must be a thief?" Fang asked.

"I prefer to call myself a treasure hunter. Ruins my image to be called a dirty thief." Rouge tucked away her Chaos Emerald.

_Maybe I can find a way to win me that emerald…_ Fang gave an evil grin, but the thought of his sister crossed his mind again. "Er, have you by chance seen a purple weasel like me around here?"

Rouge shook her head. "No, you're the only purple weasel I've ever seen. Why? Lose your girlfriend?" She giggled.

"No, she's my sister." Fang fumed. "She was captured by Dr. Robotnik. He didn't tell me where he took her; he just left a stupid note. Besides, I don't need a girlfriend."

"Sure you don't…" Rouge smirked. "Hmmm. I'm not sure exactly why Robotnik would do something like that, but I do know this: he has a new secret base built in the Sand Ruins." Rouge winked, and started to wander away.

"Wait up!" Fang caught up with her. "Where is this 'secret base'? Will you take me to it?"

The bat stopped in her tracks. She pondered what Fang had said, and then turned around to face him. "I guess you saved me a trip to the jail."

"So does that mean you'll take me to him?" The weasel eagerly awaited an answer.

"Count me in." Rouge grinned. "But what's in it for me?"

"Huh?" Fang stared at her in bewilderment.

"I don't normally help people just to be nice, y'know. I need to have an incentive." Rouge shrugged.

"Is not going to jail a good enough incentive?" The weasel asked.

"Nah. I need something more…how about this. I'll take you to the base if you give me what you just looted."

"Heh, you think you're clever…" Fang reluctantly handed Rouge the cash he had gotten from Bob's wallet.

"I don't think I'm clever; I know I am." Rouge's eyes twinkled.


	7. Chapter 7

It was pitch black when Nic opened her eyes. A burning sensation shot through her face, and she winced in pain. "Wha…what happened? Where am I?" She tried to stand up to walk around, but something was holding her firmly in place. "The hell?"

Suddenly, a switch was flicked on, and light spilled across the room. The round form of Dr. Robotnik stood grinning at the door with a hand on the switch.

"Robotnik!" Nic shouted in surprise, and tried to pull out her gun from her belt. 

"No use trying to struggle. You are bound to that chair." The doctor smirked, and pointed to the ropes secured around Nic's middle and wrists. "All thanks to my latest creation. I'm sure you've met him. He was nice enough to bring you over to me." Robotnik stepped aside. Leaning on the wall was none other than Metal Fang!

"It's you!" Nic stared at the cyborg in disgust. "I remember you! You look just like-"

"Uncanny resemblance, yes?" Robotnik chuckled. "He's much like Fang, except he's far more powerful. Oh yes, and he's err, metallic. Speaking of which…your brother is on the lookout for you as we speak!"

"Nack? He's coming?" Nic perked up when her brother was mentioned.

"Of course!" Robotnik brushed back his mustache. "It's not going to be a piece of cake for him, though. You see that clock?" He pointed to a little plastic clock hanging on the wall. "Approximately two days from now, I'll have my little robot kill you." The doctor watched as Nic's eyes widened in shock. "If Fang makes it in time, I'll have both of you in my grasp. M.F. will be having quite a time firing rounds." 

Fang's doppelganger nodded in agreement.

A beeping sound came from Robotnik's pocket, and the man took out a device that resembled a phone. He read the message that had been sent to him, and waved to his captive. "Sorry that I have to leave so soon, but I've got some 'business' to take care of. You two play nice." He laughed and slammed the steel door behind him.

Nic sighed. "That's just peachy…I have to be stuck with you, you Nack impersonator!" She stuck her tongue out at the robot.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." M.F. walked over to Nic, and held out his arm. It started to shake and it pulled into the robot's frame.

"Wow. You lost an arm…" Nic rolled her eyes. "I'm soooo scared."

Before she could comment again, a magnificent silver sniper rifle rolled out of the hole where M.F.'s arm used to be. He pointed it at Nic, and aimed. "Master said not to kill you until your time runs out, but I'm tempted to pull this trigger right now." His choppy robotic voice hinted no emotion whatsoever.

Nic gulped, and shut her mouth.

---

"Hey, I thought I was leading the way!" Rouge yelled as she watched Fang wander through Station Square's busy streets, wary of oncoming cars.

"I'm just going to get a few supplies before we head off. I think I used my last bullets on those two police suckers back there. I know there was a weapons supply shop somewhere around here." Fang looked around at the many shops lining the sidewalks until he found one called 'Bullseye Bean's'. The sign was very noticeable; it was painted a bright yellow and had a winking green duck on it.

Rouge shook her head as Fang walked into the store. "Boys and their weapons…" she muttered, and followed him.

Inside the shop, there were wooden shelves on the walls showcasing various weapons. Guns, bows, knives, shruikens…but the most common ones were the bombs. Liquid bombs, rockets, missiles, detonators, TNT, fireworks; heck, if you accidentally dropped a match in the store, you could blow away the whole street!

The duck from the sign was behind the counter, fumbling with a circular black bomb. He had not noticed the two newcomers until Rouge spoke.

"So, you must be Bean." She watched as he carefully set the bomb on the counter, and turned.

"Oh, thank goodness you got my name right! Everyone who comes in mistakes me for that stupid hawk that rides on the air snowboard!" Bean snorted. "I'd like to meet him someday and give him a piece of my mind."

"Uhh, we aren't looking to chat. We're kind of on a time frame." Rouge pointed to the clock that now read 2:39 PM. "My friend here needs some ammo for his pistol."

Fang was busy staring at an expensive new sniper rifle. He had his face pressed against the glass case, and his eyes were sparkling with delight.

"I'll need to see what kind it is." The duck took out a huge black box from behind the counter and set it beside his bomb.

"Fang, give him your gun." Rouge snapped.

Fang kept on staring at the sniper rifle and totally ignored the bat.

"FANG, SNAP OUT OF IT!" Rouge yelled.

"Huh? Oh." He forced himself out of the trance, and slid his pistol across the counter to Bean.

Bean inspected the gun for a minute before sliding it back over to Fang. "A Colt Magnum, if I'm not mistaken." He opened the box he had taken out earlier, and spun it around so it faced Fang and Rouge. Inside were hundreds of assorted bullets each sorted into sections. The solid gold bullets caught Fang's eye. "So where are you two off to?"

"We're looking for my sister. Dr. Robotnik captured her, and Rouge here knows where his secret base is. That's probably where she's being held hostage." Rouge gave a little wink at the mention of her name.

"Robotnik? Ick, that isn't good. I've been in a few conflicts with him. Turns out he keeps asking me to work for him since I have such a great knowledge of explosives. I say no every time. He would just want to use the bombs for his own evil reasons." The duck shrugged, and continued to search the box. "I think the best ones would be these." Bean grabbed a handful of lead bullets, and set them on the counter. "Good for long and short range."

"Fine. I'll take them." Fang quickly swiped them and loaded his pistol. "C'mon Rouge, that's all we needed." He turned to leave when Bean gave a shout.

"Hold up!" Bean ran over to Fang and handed him a small grenade. "Robotnik isn't going to give up without a fight. You might find use for this. Be careful though; this grenade is the most powerful one I make. It doesn't look like it, but it can cause quite a blast. Use it only as a last resort."

"Err, thanks." Fang latched the grenade onto his belt, and walked out the door with Rouge behind him.

"I left some money on the counter." Rouge whispered to the weasel as she dashed in front.

"Good luck getting your sister back!" Bean waved in the doorway of his shop as the two disappeared down the street. "You'll need it…" he quietly added.

The clock read 2:53 PM.


	8. Chapter 8

The golden sun started to set on Station Square, painting the sky a beautiful pink hue. After spending the majority of the day investigating the metropolis' busy streets and buildings, Fang and Rouge were exhausted. After all, Nic could have been held somewhere in the city, right? Wrong. There was no trace of her at all. Now the two gazed in awe at the grand sunset from a grassy hill just outside of the city. Both were lying on their backs enjoying the view, save for Fang, who had a worried look in his eyes.

"Ah, the sky is so beautiful in the evening, don't you think?" Rouge flipped over onto her side, and stared at Fang. She noticed something was wrong because he sat up as she spoke as if he were deep in thought.

"What's the matter?" Rouge asked, frowning.

"We combed through the entire town, but Nic wasn't anywhere! Haven't you realized that we spent HOURS looking for her? It's almost nighttime of the first day! 48 hours might seem like a long while, but when you have a life in danger, it goes by much faster." Fang snapped. He was right; if Nic was all the way in the desert, they did not have much time to waste.

"Relax, weasel! We can cover a lot of ground in the time we have left. Live a little!" The bat laughed.

Fang sighed, disregarding Rouge's advice. "How much further do we have to go until we get to the Sand Ruins?"

"I'd say at least fifty miles." Rouge guessed.

Fang groaned. "We have to leave right now, then! That's not an easy distance to travel in a little over a day." He stood up and was about to walk away when an ear-splitting gunshot rang through the air. Rouge was staring at the smoking patch of ground in front of her face, and she was turning pallid from fear. A shiny bullet lay in between the blades of grass.

"Well, now we should leave!" Fang grabbed Rouge's hand and pulled the stunned bat off the ground. "Someone's trying to shoot us!" He dashed ahead, expecting Rouge to follow.

"Like who?" Rouge asked as she caught up to him. "I don't see anybody."

Fang remembered the note Robotnik had left on the fridge. '_I also have two men out looking for you. Two men that hate you with a bloody passion. Two men, and a machine…you figure it out.' _ Who were the two men who hated him, and what was the machine?

"I'm not sure. All I know is that whoever the fuck they are, they are hiding somewhere. Perhaps in the trees…but we can't stick around to find out!" As he ran, the weasel noticed the trees around the area were starting to clump together until they formed the beginning of a forest. Though, that was not all; the trees and foliage started to get bigger and bigger. Soon, the trees towered overhead like gigantic green toothpicks. It made Fang feel small and insignificant in their presence.

A few more bullets were fired, all of them missing the intended targets. Fang and Rouge scrambled into the safety of the forest undergrowth.

"You think the police are on to us? After all, you killed those officers! I, for one, refuse to go to jail again." Rouge crossed her arms and continued to blather about her time in the 'big house'.

Fang eyed the large trees surrounding him. Someone had to be following them, using the forest as cover.

"…and then there were the disgusting jail uniforms! Augh, the black bars on them made me want to-" Suddenly, a muscular arm wrapped around Rouge's middle, and before she could scream for help, a sharp knife was held up to her neck.

"Be on your guard, Rouge." Fang turned to the bat, only to see that an all-too-familiar man had grabbed her. "It's…it's you! I thought I…" He stammered, and stared in disbelief at the man.

"Ah, Fang the Sniper! We meet again. Surprised to see me?" The Hunter grinned, showing off his ugly teeth.

"I thought I killed you! I saw you lying on the ground!" Fang recalled what had happened at the slaughterhouse.

"Hey, it's the weasel!" A voice shouted from the tree above. A man with glasses and a lab coat was pointing at Fang.

"Shut up, Joshua! Don't get into my business!" The Hunter growled, glaring at the man.

_His face looks awfully familiar. Is that the guy from the store? _Fang thought. Yes, it did look like the 'fan' who had asked to take his photo!

"Hey! You're the wise ass who blinded me with that damn camera!" The weasel yelled.

"Ehehe…" Joshua sported an innocent look on his face. "Yeeaaaah."

"Good, good. Now that we are all aquatinted, I'll get on with my threat!" The Hunter held the knife closer to Rouge's neck, until she could feel the blade against her fur. She looked up at Fang with a face that seemed to read 'Help me, goddammit!'

"Let go of her!" Fang reached for his pistol, and aimed it at The Hunter. "I won't miss my shot this time!"

"You really think that'll work a second time? Think again, weasel." The Hunter smirked, and watched as Fang grew angry.

Little did he know Rouge was planning her escape! The bat took the heel of her foot and kicked it backwards right into the man's crotch while he was not paying attention.

"AUUUUGHHHH OH MY FUCKING GOD OWOWOWOW!" The Hunter dropped the knife and fell to his knees in pain. "YOU BITCH!"

Rouge winked at him, and blew him a fake kiss. "Sorry, but that's how I play. Dirty." She snickered, and walked over to Fang's side. "Do the honors?" She motioned to the cringing Hunter.

"I thought you'd never ask." The weasel loaded his pistol, and started to fire rounds at The Hunter's head so the man would actually die this time. Joshua could only stare in horror as The Hunter's camouflage outfit and blonde hair were stained a dark blood red. Too bad he did not have any weapons with him to fight back.

The tip of Fang's gun leaked smoke from the shooting, so he brought the pistol to his face and blew on it. He turned to the trembling Josh and smirked. "Wanna be next?"

The scientist said nothing, but instead ran away from the scene screaming.

When Josh disappeared from view, Fang and Rouge started laughing hysterically. 

"Oh my God! That was great!" Rouge clapped. "He's as full of holes as a hunk of Swiss Cheese!" She kicked The Hunter once more, flipping him over. He remained motionless.

"No, you did better. I mean, you kicked him in the balls! That was genius!" Fang tucked away his pistol. "Maybe there's more to you than meets the eye."

"Maybe." Rouge started strolling ahead, leading Fang like she was supposed to.

_Hmmm…if The Hunter and that Josh guy were the two men Robotnik mentioned, then where is the robot?_ Fang thought, nervously checking his surroundings. He tried to get his mind off of the question gnawing at his head. "So, where are we, Rouge?"

"I think we're somewhere in the Green Cave. People say it's a large forest and a cave." Rouge shrugged. "I happen to agree with them. I've been through here many times; once for an Extreme Gear Grand Prix."

Fang tagged along behind her. "Extreme Gear? You raced?"

"Yep." Rouge nodded. "I didn't win, but it was fun having the men gawk at me in my racing suit."

---

The two walked on for a couple of hours until the evening light filtering down from the treetops faded. A single star lit up the night sky, along with the aid of the sliver that remained of the crescent moon.

Fang and Rouge were sitting side by side, watching the moon cast its pale light on the forest.

"This is the only rest we can afford to take, Rouge. To make sure we both don't fall asleep, one of us will need to stay up. Then we can switch out from time to time." Fang gingerly removed his hat, and placed it on the ground beside him.

"I'll stay up first. Heck, you need more rest than I do. Bats are creatures of the night." Rouge did not seem bothered by her decision.

"You sure?" Fang asked.

"I'm sure." The bat nodded.

"Fine. Just wake me up in a few hours, okay? Once we've both done a rotation, we'll head out again." Fang rolled onto his side, and closed his eyes. _She's not half bad._ Within a few minutes, he was sound asleep.

Rouge smiled. "Sleep tight." She laid back and stared at the moon again. _I'm thinking that it was a good idea to join him on this expedition._

---

The rotation came and went. Fang and Rouge set out again as the hours climbed into the AMs. Rouge was just as awake as ever, her eyes gleaming brightly in the darkness of the night. Fang, however, wasn't as awake as she was. Most weasels were nocturnal, but he seemed to be the exception.

As the night turned into dawn, Rouge noticed she could no longer hear Fang's footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw Fang curled up in a gigantic leaf.

The bat walked over to him, and pulled him out of his makeshift bed. "Sigh…I can't just leave you here, can I? It's your sister we're after." Rouge thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion. She opened her wings, and grabbed Fang by his arms. With a strong push off the ground, she took off into the air with her cargo. At first, she struggled to keep herself balanced. Fang was weighing her down.

"Jesus, he's gotta lay off the desserts." She mumbled, and flew away into the morning sun.

---

An hour later, Metal Fang approached the area Rouge had left via the jet packs installed into his shoes. He skidded to a halt when he reached a folded leaf lying in the dirt. There was no sign of anyone or anything around.

"Dr. Robotnik said they would be here." The robot quickly scanned the area for coordinates. "According to my calculations, two organic organisms were here precisely 60 minutes ago. Since they are not in the vicinity anymore, I should return to-"

A beeping noise sounded, and M.F. glanced at his arm. A small television popped out and Dr. Robotnik's face appeared on the screen. "M.F., Joshua and The Hunter are falling down on the job. I thought you were with them!"

"No, they were too slow for my tastes, so I abandoned them. Though, I ran into Joshua on my way through the jungle. He seemed frightened by something, but before I could force him to talk, he ran away like a little pansy." Metal Fang shrugged.

"Augh. I saw that coming." Robotnik put his palm to his face and shook his head. "No matter. Have you found the target yet?"

"I managed to process coordinates to where he is headed. Apparently, he is not alone…" M.F. trailed off.

"Oh, so someone else joined the party? I guess you can add another person to your death list now." Robotnik cackled. "Follow their trail!"


	9. Chapter 9

"Wake up, weasel. We're here." Rouge bent down and gently shook Fang until he stirred.

"Whaaaat?" the weasel asked groggily. "Wher-ooohhh."

The desert unfolded before his very eyes. Colossal hills of sand covered the landscape, making the Sand Ruins seem like it was an endless desolate plain. The brick remains of a city were scattered around the area, worn down from the occasional sand storms that blew through the Ruins. An ancient civilization had once thrived there, but had eventually moved on to bigger and better places. Now the only things living in the barren wasteland were the scorpions who darted in and out among the rocks.

"Is this where Robotnik's goddamn base is supposed to be? This is the middle of nowhere!" Fang ranted. "Why would he choose a location like this?"

"Beats me. He probably wanted to build it here because nobody would even think of traveling this far. Station Square is far behind us now." Rouge squinted. Apparently, she was looking at something in the distance that had sparked her interest.

"Look!" She pointed at a gleaming red building she had spotted on the horizon. "That's gotta be his base!"

"Seriously? I've still got a full day left! Robotnik must have a screwed sense of time." Fang grinned. He was relieved that Robotnik had given him more than enough time to come and rescue Nic.

"The early bird gets the worm. Or birds in this case." Rouge winked. "I bet Robotnik's got lots of secret wealth just waiting to be discovered in there." Her eyes sparkled with anticipation, and she ran ahead. "Let's get going!"

"Wait up!" The weasel called, and followed behind. Rouge was scaling the sand piles with ease as if she were a monkey climbing a tree to reach its favorite bananas, so Fang had trouble keeping up with her. The hot sun beat down upon him, and the air became sticky and thick. No wonder he was lagging!

The base loomed closer and began to get larger as the two approached it. And to think it looked small from afar! The walls were far taller than the pillars that surrounded the desert, and were painted a brilliant fire truck red. It was ironic that Robotnik had chosen such a bright and noticeable color if he wanted to keep his building a secret.

"Ow, it burns the eyes, doesn't it?" Fang shielded his eyes as he finally reached Rouge, who was inspecting the wall of the base. She touched it delicately, and immediately pulled back her hand. "It burns fingers too!"

The weasel kicked the wall, and it made a hollow sounding noise. "It's steel. Any kind of metal heats up in the sun, and with this heat, it's extra hot."

"Oh, so it's almost impossible to sneak in anywhere but the main entrance without getting burned! I see. He's quite the tricky guy." Rouge strode over to the other side of the wall and stared at the entryway into the base. It was a huge silver door with Robotnik's face engraved on its surface. How would they infiltrate the building without getting their fingers fried? Just as she finished her thought, she noticed a keypad next to the door. "Hmmm…Fang, I can crack his code to get inside, but it'll take me a few minutes."

"We've got a whole day left, remember? A few minutes won't hurt." Fang decided to draw a message in the sand with his foot. As Rouge worked, he spelled out his sentence. When he finished, the letters read 'Fuck You Robotnik' in big capital letters. He snickered.

"Okay, I'm done. One of the more difficult ones I've had to figure out, but at least we can get inside." The bat pressed the green button on the keypad, and the door slid open. Both of them stepped inside, their shoes making clinking noises on the steel floor.

The inside of the base seemed much smaller than the outside. Everything was made of the same steel material as the walls were, and even the same bright red color was kept. A staircase was the only thing that was present in the room, so it had to be the way that would lead them to Nic.

"Woah, awesome! There's not any security! It doesn't seem like anybody else is here, either." Fang stared at the empty walls that were deprived of video cameras and speakers. 

"Strange. Robotnik would normally have his bases filled with Egg Pawns or some sort of robot." Rouge examined the area with watchful eyes, expecting to find at least some sort of machine that was guarding the place. She never did.

Fang trudged up the stairs first, eager to find out where his sister was located. "Perhaps there's more upstairs. If this is a SECRET base, then he has to keep important things here."

"True." Rouge followed him, thinking of all the rare jewels Robotnik could have on the next floor.

When they reached the top of the stairs, a hallway was waiting for them. Three doors sat on each side of the hall, each with what appeared to be DNA recognition scanners beside them. Fang and Rouge noticed the scanners, and groaned in unison. 

"…Now what? We'd have to be Robotnik or one of his fucking robots to get through!" Fang turned to Rouge, who was contemplating what to do.

"We could try to see if it's malfunctioning." Rouge suggested. "Who knows? Maybe it'll let us in."

"Fine, but you can go first. I don't want to take any chances if it blows up or anything."

Rouge grumbled at Fang's snide remark, and approached the machine.

The scanner blinked, and a red light enveloped Rouge's body for a few seconds. "DNA NOT COMPATIBLE." A boxing glove came out of the scanner, and punched Rouge in the face, knocking her over. "Hey! It should've known better than to knock down a lady!" She got to her feet and glared at the machine.

"I guess I'll try, then." Fang walked up to the scanner, and waited for it to work again. Sure enough, it blinked twice, and his purple fur turned red. _I feel so vulnerable…_

The machine processed its data, and the weasel waited for it to punch him in the face. Instead of hurting him, it welcomed him with an open door and a sign on the screen that read 'WELCOME METAL FANG.'

"Who the hell is Metal Fang?" Fang blinked, but did not have time to think about the message. A familiar gasp came from the room he had unlocked. 

"Nack!"

Fang stuck his head through the doorway, and sure enough, there was his sister tied to a chair.

"Nic? They locked you in a room?"

"That's not all they did! This metallic robot that looked just like you took me away from the apartment the other night!" She struggled to get herself free from the ropes that held her in place.

Everything was starting to make sense. _Two men, and a machine…you figure it out._

Fang rushed over to Nic's side and quickly untied her from the chair. "You can tell me when we get back home. I think we're in big danger now."

Nic nodded, and tears started to roll down her muzzle. "I didn't think you would find me."

Her brother yanked on her arm and pulled her out the door. "I had some help from Rouge over there."

Rouge waved at the mention of her name, but quickly realized that Fang was departing. "Hey! What about the treasure that's in here?"

"Forget it. We can't stay here much longer! There's a robot roaming around here somewhere!"

She ran alongside Fang as they descended down the stairs. "…Nack?" She raised an eyebrow in suspicion as she remembered what Nic had called him.

"My real name. My sis likes to call me that. Personally, I think it's babyish." Fang made a disgusted face.

They reached the bottom and darted out of the main entrance without a moment to spare. Nic was not used to the light of the desert, so she shielded her eyes from the blazing sun.

Fang turned to run back the way he and Rouge had come, when he noticed they were not alone anymore. A purple robot in his mirror image stood blocking his way, staring at him with his menacing red eyes.

"No way…" Rouge stood frozen in place with her mouth agape.

"It's him! It's the robot!" Nic pointed and screamed at the machine.

"Like him?" The robot spoke with Robotnik's voice: the man was watching the commotion from the computer room of his second base. A camera installed in the robot's eyes showed him the three animals on the screen. He adjusted the microphone that sat next to it, and talked again. "Metal Fang sure does bear resemblance to his organic cousin."

"You asshole! How did you find us?" Fang shouted, enraged at the fact that someone would have dared to make a robot copy of him.

"Oh, there's no need to be using that kind of language! When you walked into the base, the silent alarm was set, so I got signals telling me that something had intruded into my building. I sent M.F. over to investigate, and here you are! And I see Rouge has aided you in Nicolette's escape." Metal Fang turned his head in Rouge's direction. "I'm afraid that won't be happening today. It doesn't matter how much time you have left, because your time is up! Destroy them, Metal Fang!"

Fang let go of his sister, and pushed her out of the way as Metal Fang dived at him. He barely missed his target.

_Damn, he's fast…_ Fang skidded out of the way, and brought out his pistol to confront the enemy. 

"Metal Fang, you aren't supposed to miss!" Robotnik scolded. "Kill him, and then the others!"

Nic scurried over to Rouge, and watched in horror as her brother battled M.F. "He wasn't supposed to kill me earlier, but one whip of his tail knocked me out. I fear what's going to happen to Nack." She buried her face in her hands and refused to watch the fight.

M.F. glanced at Fang's pistol and laughed. "You think a mere pistol is going to stop him? Go ahead. Shoot if you must."

"Don't mind if I do." Fang loaded his gun and fired at the robot. The bullet ricocheted off M.F.'s metal surface, deflecting the shot.

"What?" Fang shot at M.F. again and again, but none of the bullets even scratched his steel coat. "He's bulletproof?"

"Of course. I obtained your life data and programmed him with all of your weaknesses. Every single one. Without your gun to do any damage, you're practically weak!" M.F. stuck out his arm and Fang watched in awe as it transformed into a lustrous silver sniper rifle; his favorite gun.

"Too bad YOU aren't bulletproof." M.F. aimed at Fang and before the weasel could move, he clipped Fang's side with a bullet that moved faster than his victim could see. Fang roared in pain as the silver bullet ripped through his flesh, and he gripped his wound.

Metal Fang kicked up the sand around his counterpart while he was distracted. Fang went into a coughing frenzy for a few minutes, clutching his aching side as he did so. When the sand cleared, he noticed the robot was gone. "Shit. Where'd he go?"

M.F.'s maniacal laughter sounded, and the robot slammed into Fang's right leg at full force. A loud snap was heard, and Fang winced, collapsing to the ground. The pain in his leg combined with the pain of his gunshot wound was too much to bear. He lay on the ground and looked up at M.F., waiting for his end.

All of a sudden, Rouge came flying through the air, and she thrust her leg into Metal Fang's head. The robot toppled backward into the sand, but recovered from the blow quickly. His eyes glowed in anger. "HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO MY CREATION!" He bellowed, and pointed his sniper at the bat, ready to shoot her. 

Fang grabbed M.F.'s leg and struggled to pull him down despite the agony he was in. M.F. took his aim off Rouge and turned his attention back to the weasel that was attempting to attack him. 

He remembered Bean's final words before he had left the store. _"Robotnik isn't going to give up without a fight. You might find use for this. Be careful though; this grenade is the most powerful one I make. It doesn't look like it, but it can cause quite a blast. Use it only as a last resort."_

This was a good enough last resort to him. Fang climbed on top of M.F. for as long as he could stall the robot and pinned him to the ground.

"Rouge! Take my sister and fly her as far away as possible!"

"Why?" Rouge's eyes were as big as saucers.

"Don't ask why! Just do it!" Fang barked.

Rouge didn't hesitate to follow his orders. She grabbed Nic by the hands and took off with the weasel below her. 

"Wait, why are we leaving Nack behind?" Nic looked back at her brother, who was struggling to keep Metal Fang on the ground.

"I'm not sure, hun, but I didn't like the tone in his voice…" Rouge continued to pump her wings as fast as she could so she could gain distance between her and Fang.

_If I can't harm him with bullets or physical attacks, this leaves me no other choice…_ Fang took the bomb off of his belt, and stared at it for a few moments. He shook his head in regret, and bit the pin out of the grenade before he attached it to Metal Fang's back with the ropes that had tied Nic.

"GET OFF OF ME, YOU PEST!" M.F. bucked Fang off, and stood up, unaware of the ticking bomb strapped to his back.

The weasel wasted no time. He got to his feet and started limping away as agile as his broken leg would let him.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?" M.F. was about to follow him when the grenade burst, blowing him into millions of tiny shards of steel.

Fang turned and looked at the wall of fire drawing closer to him. He knew he could not escape the blast radius. With all the strength he had left, he leaped forward before becoming engulfed in the flames.

---

Rouge and Nic watched the explosion from the safety of a large boulder a few miles away.

"Do you think Nack is okay? That looks like one heck of a blast." Nic turned to Rouge with a worried glint in her eyes. 

Rouge did not answer. She averted her gaze and looked down at her feet.

They waited in complete silence as the explosion slowly died down. "We've got to see if he's alright!" Nic shook Rouge until she pulled away from the weasel's grasp.

"Okay, okay. I'll fly over there again, just stop shaking me!" Rouge grabbed Nic's hands again, and flew off toward the explosion site.

---

When they arrived, the air was covered in thick billowy smoke. Rouge landed, and stared at what remained of the area. Apparently, the whole base had exploded, leaving huge chunks of metal lying in the sand. A few scorpions crawled over the ruins, clapping their pincers together.

"Nack! Naaaaack!" Nic called out to her brother, but all she could hear was her voice echoing across the dunes.

Rouge cautiously stepped over the debris, careful not to trip over anything. She was about to give up and leave when she spotted a hat buried under a mound of sand. She dug the rest up, and realized it was quite familiar. The stiff brown fabric was dotted with black splotches where the fire from the blast had scorched it. She looked up, and gasped. Right in front of her was Fang's body, face down in the sand and charred black with ash.

Her voice started choking up. "NIC! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!"

"Huh?" Nicolette looked up from her investigation, and ran over to Rouge, who was now bent down in the sand.

"NACK! OH MY FUCKING GOD!" Nic started sobbing uncontrollably.

Rouge turned Fang over, and slapped him on the face. "Come on, snap out of it!" She gritted her teeth. When he did not respond, she brought her huge ears to his chest, praying she would hear the slightest trace of a heartbeat. Nothing. The bat frowned, and turned to Nic with tears welling up in her eyes.

"…he's…dead."


	10. Chapter 10

"Ugnh…where…where am I?" Fang opened his eyes and looked around at where he lay. A vast expanse of emptiness stretched on in all directions. Everything was a pure white. A blinding light suddenly burst out of nowhere and met his gaze, and he shielded his eyes with his hands. "Who's screwing around with the damn lights? Can you tone it down a notch?"

"Most certainly." A feminine whisper echoed back, and the light that had emerged dulled down to a soft glow. 

"Thanks." Fang sat up, and turned to the light again. His jaw dropped in astonishment.

A gorgeous pink lady weasel floated in the air above him, smiling. A large tooth hung out of her grin, just like his did. She wore a black tank top, and boots that mirrored the color of her top. She giggled as he stared, and waved at him. Wait a minute. She looked so familiar…

"Hey! I know you!" Fang scrambled to his feet and pointed at her. "You're the weasel from that dream!" He reflected back on the realistic vision he had had of the female weasel when he had arrived at The Hunter's slaughterhouse.

She nodded, and spoke in her Southern accent. "Yes, I do believe I've met you before, hun. Long time no see." A cloud of smoke formed in her hand, and a hat that resembled Fang's appeared in her grasp. She settled it on her head and turned to him again.

"Who exactly are you? Are you a fangirl? A relative? Are you…a STALKER?" Fang emphasized his last guess with a growl.

"No, no. Nothing of the sort, buckaroo!" The lady weasel shook her head. "Even though I know everything about you, that doesn't make me a stalker! See, I'm Aurora!"

"Aurora? The powerful Mobian deity? Riiight. Like I believe that." Fang rolled his eyes. This was probably all just a hallucination. 

"Yep! I can prove it to you, too. Take a lil' gander at yer fur, hotshot." The weasel replied.

"What does that have to do with anything? I mean, it's purple, and-" Fang held up his arm, expecting to see his normal purple hue. Instead, he saw that his fur was a deep forest green.

"WHAT THE HELL? WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME, BITCH?" He roared, and tried to rub off the green that was on his fur. Hey, it could be paint, right?

"It's not what I did. It's what you did. All deceased beings bear the green color." The other weasel shrugged.

"Deceased? I'm DEAD?" Fang stared at her like a deer caught in headlights.

"Yeah. Is that enough proof for you?" She winked at Fang.

Fang realized that he had just insulted the mighty Aurora, so he sported an innocent expression. "Ehehe. Sorry about that little outburst. It won't happen again. I just thought you…well, that you didn't really look like a weasel."

"Naw, I'm just how you pictured me to be. I take the form of whatever species people view me as, wether it be a hedgehog or an echidna. You see me as you imagine me." Aurora clarified. "To you, a sexy weasel."

_She's got that right._ He thought. "But why did you appear to me in my dream? I wasn't dead then." Fang asked, puzzled.

"I was looking after you. I saw yer fate long before it happened and I decided to check things out. Since The Hunter had knocked you out cold, the only logical place I could make contact without physically appearing was in yer unconcious mind." Aurora chuckled. "You had some pretty weird thoughts about me back then. Now I see that you have feelings for that Rouge gal."

"Woah woah woah! Stoppit! I don't like her at all! She just knew where my sister was!" Fang blushed as he rebuttled.

"Uh-huh. Sure. Don't try to change yer feelings. You can't hide anything from me!" Aurora winked at him again.

Fang tried to change the subject. "Can I just go back home now? I don't like being dead."

"Who said anyone liked it? It is what it is.As for reviving you, I'm afraid I can't do that, lil' man." Aurora affirmed.

"Why not? Am I not worthy enough?"

"Exactly. I've viewed yer life story, Fang, and there were only a few instances where you demonstrated the good qualities of yerself." Aurora took out a red leather book from under her hat and started reading it.

"Don't you think sacrificing my life for my sister is a good enough deed? Nic needed me, otherwise she would've ended up here too!" Fang watched as Aurora nodded to herself and closed the book.

"The pages don't lie. You haven't done much in your 22 years of life, have you?" Aurora tucked the book back under her hat, and the two items disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"But I've gotta go back! What'll Nic do? And Rouge?" Fang mentioned the bat again.

"They'll think of something." Aurora turned her back on the weasel, and started to float away.

"Wait! Don't go!" Fang pleaded, and lept for her legs so he could cling onto her. He grabbed a hold of them, but phased right through like the ghost he was now.

"Aurora, you can't just leave my old friend behind like that." A deep voice from behind them made both Fang and Aurora jump.

The faint outline of a midnight black wolf started to take form right before their eyes. The wolf had shining yellow eyes that stood out from the darkness of his fur coat, and below his right eye was a thin red line that marked a scar. 

"A-Asher? You're here too?" Fang ran over to greet his canine buddy, who he had recognized right away.

"Of course. I AM dead, right?" Asher gave a hearty laugh, but his smile was soon replaced with a frown. "I didn't think you would die so early, Fang. What happened?"

"I tried to save my sister and a bat. Long story short, I had to face one of Dr. Robotnik's creations that looked exactly like me. It was the strongest thing I had ever faced, and there was only one way to defeat it. I used a bomb someone had given me, and I fastened it onto the robot's back. It blew up, and the last thing I remember were flames coming at me. I felt a burning pain, and then everything went black. Next thing I knew, I ended up here." Fang explained.

"Ah. I'm not sure who this Robotnik guy is, but if he helped kill you, I'm not too fond of meeting him." Asher growled, showing off his pointy teeth. "Anyway, I see you've met Aurora. She's a kind soul. Perhaps she'll let us see each other once in a while."

"I can't stay, Asher! I need to get back on the planet, but she says I'm not worthy of being revived!" Fang looked back at Aurora, who was listening in on the conversation.

The wolf gathered his thoughts for a moment before talking again. "Aurora, can I speak with you? Is there some sort of compromise we can settle on?" Asher waved his paw at her in a beckoning gesture.

Aurora hovered over to the wolf, and both walked away from Fang. They argued for a few minutes before coming to a conclusion and turning to the weasel.

"We've decided. Asher says that you helped the whole slaughterhouse escape when you were trapped there. I saw this in that book I was reading. You saved more lives than just your own. He also says you were a great companion to have in the time you two were there, so I guess that means I can have a reason to put you back into yer old body." Aurora watched as Fang's eyes lit up. "Under one condition…you can't tell anyone about your encounter here, not even your closest of family. If you do, I'll have to take your life the hard way." Fire seemed to dance across her face as she spoke.

"Mum's the word!" Fang made a thumbs-up at Aurora in agreement. "Just one more thing: can Asher come along too?"

Aurora glanced over to Asher, who shook his head. "Fang, I don't need to go back. There isn't anyone else who needs me on land. Your friend and sister need you more than you need me. I'd only intervene. Besides, I'm perfectly happy here with Aurora, and I met this nice she-wolf with glossy white fur."

"Ah, niiiice. Scoring the babes, eh Asher?" Fang smiled, showing off his prominent tooth.

"You bet. Good luck then, Fang. I'll see you in around a few decades." The wolf sat down and watched as Aurora approached his friend.

"Here, let me see your hand." The pink weasel took Fang's hand in hers and recited something in an ancient language. A bright ball of light enveloped him, and he watched as Asher and Aurora slowly disappeared. Everything turned white.

---

He could hear faint voices coming from close by. There were two, and both sounded familiar. Something pressed against his lips, and he could feel air being forced into his lungs. His eyes snapped open.

Wow, this was awkward. Rouge was giving him CPR! Her eyes met his, and they pulled away from each other in disgust.

"Holy shit, what were you thinking, woman!" Fang spat.

"Y-you were dead!" Rouge stuttered.

"Exactly. So if you knew I was dead, couldn't you have just left me alone!" Fang wiped his mouth on his arm, and rolled on his side. It hurt, but he did not care the slightest bit.

_Heh, that was one hell of a way to come back. Thanks Aurora._

"Hmph." Rouge stood up and crossed her arms. "I didn't have to try to revive you, y'know."

_But oh how I had been waiting to do that…_The bat thought.


	11. Chapter 11

"So…how are we going to get back to the city? I can't carry both of you the entire way!" Rouge glanced out at the rolling hills of sand that surrounded the explosion site.

"Yeah. We've also got to be careful with Nack. He's got some pretty bad injuries." Nic nodded and knelt down beside her brother.

"Relax, sis! I can handle myself fine!" Fang attempted to stand up, which sent a searing pain through his body like a spreading brushfire. He winced, and collapsed into the sand. "At least, I thought I could." The weasel gave a weak chuckle.

Nic turned to Rouge. "You said you can't carry BOTH of us, but what about just him? There's no way Nack can walk the distance back to Station Square!"

"Ugh, why do I have to be the one to carry everyone around? I'm not your personal airplane." Rouge moaned. She was about to refuse Nic's offer until she locked eyes with her worried stare. The bat tossed her complaints aside, and strode over to Fang. She held out her hand and pulled the weasel up off the ground.

Fang was a complete wreck. His fur was a charcoal black from the intense flames of the blast he had endured instead of its normal purple color. The red of his eyes had lost some of its luster, and he was having trouble keeping himself from falling down again. M.F. had broken his leg, which was the cause of his limping, and he still had the wound from the bullet that had clipped his side.

Rouge was about to fly off with Fang until she came upon a realization. "Wait, how are you going to get back, Nicolette? I can't leave you here, y'know."

"I'm going to follow you two on foot. I'll try to keep up and meet you to rest in the forest later tonight." Nic watched as Rouge started to hover off of the ground with Fang in her arms.

"Sounds like a plan, Suzanne!" Rouge winked, and darted off into the horizon.

"…Suzanne?" Nic cocked her head in confusion before running after her.

---

It took a night and a day to get back to the apartment. Though, Fang was not at the apartment very long; the extent of his injuries were too much for Nic to handle, so she sent him to the hospital (much to his displeasure).

Fang peered out the hospital window from his bed. It was a fine day with clear skies, pedestrians bustling down the sidewalks, and birds flying away in the slight breeze.

He sighed. If only he could go out and enjoy the fresh air. But nooooo, Nic HAD to be so paranoid. Typical.

Just then, a knock sounded from the door. "Come in." Fang droned, keeping his eyes on the window.

The door opened, and Rouge stepped into the room. A small wooden box was nestled in her arms. She walked over to Fang's bedside and sat down on the crisp white sheets. "What'cha looking at out there?"

"Watching life pass by. It's the only entertainment I have, since there's no TV in here. I'm bored to tears." Fang yawned. "I wish I could go outside, but that would be pretty hard with these." He lifted up the sheet to reveal a heavy bandage across his middle and a cast around his right leg.

"Well, how much longer do you have here?" Rouge asked, setting the box down on the bed.

"Three weeks, not counting how long I have to wear the cast."

"Ouch." The bat frowned. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Here, I got you a little something." She motioned toward the box.

"Really?" Fang turned around to face Rouge. He grabbed the box, and spent a few moments looking at the engravings on the front. They were intricate designs of emeralds, seven in all. Each one was a different color, and they had some strange writing in another language written beside them. Fang instantly recognized them as the seven Chaos Emeralds. 

"Go on, open it! I can see the anticipation in your eyes." Rouge grinned.

Fang carefully lifted the lid, and stared in awe at what lay before him. In the box was a bullet made of solid gold, just like the ones he had seen at Bean's shop. "How…how did you get this?!?"

"Heh, I always get what I want." Rouge smirked. "Anyway, I thought I might give it to you because I'm leaving town. There's more gems elsewhere, and I've already pretty much picked this town clean."

"You're leaving? But you can't, I mean…"

Rouge interrupted Fang's outburst. "I know you don't want me to leave, but it's not my choice. I've gotta head where jewels are, and there aren't many here anymore." She shrugged and stood up. "I might not ever see you again, so enjoy that." The bat started for the door.

"You have to come back someday! What'll I do without-" The weasel tried to convince Rouge, but she had already gotten through the doorway. She turned around and gave Fang a small wave, and quietly closed the door.

_Rouge…she's so mysterious, yet so captivating…_ Fang thought as he fingered the gold bullet. When he turned it to its side, he noticed there was writing carved into the golden shell. He had to squint to read it, but it finally became clear:

'_I love you.'_

---

Meanwhile, back at the lab…

"Here, Luffy! I made you a hat to go with your little ship!" Josh placed a miniature straw hat on top of the rat's head, and smiled. "There we go! Now you look like a true pirate!"

Luffy seemed to like the hat, so he ran around in circles.

"You know, Luffy, that was some crazy mess I got myself into. Jane's dead, The Hunter's dead…I'm glad that the weasel didn't kill me! He was thinking about it, but I just ran away as fast as I could. Then I…."

_Please spare me._ Luffy thought as Joshua blathered on about his adventure.


End file.
